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In this issue...
Leading
in Adversity:
A Message from the MHI President, Teresa Carale
Feature
Article
Women Helping Women: The Rosedale Center for Girls
Women Transforming
Culture
Do you have a minute?
By Allison Elliott
Cultural Corner
Coming This Spring: There Be Dragons
By Alice Trimmer
News
and Upcoming Events
Download
Spring
2011 Newsletter
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Previous Newsletters Resources
Murray
Hill Institute Newsletter
Spring 2011
Vol. 8 No. 2
Cultural Corner
Coming This Spring: There Be Dragons
By Alice Trimmer
The film There Be Dragons, scheduled for release on May
6, 2011 in the United States, will have special interest to Murray
Hill Institute participants, because the Institute’s programs
are inspired by the thought and work of St. Josemaria Escriva and
by the teachings of the Catholic Church. Who was this saint,
you may wonder, and how did he come to found Opus Dei? These
questions are partially addressed in the film, which combines actual
events that took place in the life of St. Josemaria with a fictitious
parallel plot. The film is set in the years prior to and during
the Spanish Civil War. Opus Dei was founded in 1928, when
St. Josemaria was a young priest of 26, and the country he loved
so dearly was about to explode into war.
In late January I attended a pre-release screening of this film
with a certain amount of trepidation. Although I never met St. Josemaria,
I have read many accounts of those years and also viewed several
videos of St. Josemaria speaking to groups of people in the 1970s. For
this reason, I had a lot of pre-conceived ideas about how I would
like to see his life handled, as well as fears that the whole account
would seem overly sentimental or unbelievable. The version
of the film shown at the screening was not fully edited, so it would
be premature to attempt a full review, but a few impressions follow.
The structure of the film is complex, but not difficult to follow.
The life of St. Josemaria is counterpoised with the life of Manolo,
a childhood friend of St. Josemaria whose life takes a contrasting
path. The character of Manolo is entirely fictitious and serves
as a kind of everyman figure who is swept up by the chaos found
both in the political circumstances and in his own inner turmoil. The
film is described by the producers as “An epic portrayal of
faith, forgiveness and redemption.” It is all that and
more –the kind of film that one can talk about a long time
after it is over. A viewer familiar with the life and work
of St. Josemaria will recognize many incidents in the film, even
though they have often been adapted somewhat to fit the plot. Charlie
Cox, the British actor who plays St. Josemaria, is charming and
very natural. The incidents of a somewhat mystical nature
are presented in a way that is neither overwrought nor understated. It
is refreshing to see a film that deals with matters of faith in
a straightforward and realistic way.
The screenplay was written by Roland Joffé, who also directed
the film. Joffé gave a very comprehensive interview to the
Catholic news service Zenit, in which he explains why he became
interested in doing the film. It can be found on
Zenit's web
site.
For those interested in learning more, there are two engrossing
published books that deal with that era: Dream and Your Dreams
Will Fall Short by Pedro Casciaro and It Is Worth While by
Pedro’s younger brother, Jose Maria Casciaro. Pedro
Casciaro was one of the young men who accompanied St. Josemaria
throughout the years of the Civil War, and his book gives a first-hand
account of the same period covered by the movie. Jose Maria
was Pedro’s
brother, eight years his junior. During the war he was a teenager,
and his book is gives an intimate account of the impact of the war
on his family and how they dealt with it. Another excellent
resource is John Coverdale’s Uncommon Faith: The Early
Years of Opus Dei (1928-1943). All are available through
Scepter Publishers.
Alice Trimmer is the Director of the Rosedale Center and a
member of the MHI Board. |
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